Amazing 121-megapixel shot of Earth, courtesy of the Russians

Maybe it’s because NASA’s had its wings clipped by budget cuts, but the Russians have produced some photos of the Earth that are arguably more spectacular than ours. Check out these 121-megapixel images taken by the weather satellite Elektro-L No.1 that capture Earth in one image from 22,369 miles away. It’s the highest-resolution photo of Earth yet.

… The image certainly looks different than what we’re used to seeing, and that’s because the camera aboard the weather satellite combines data from three visible and one infrared wavelengths of light, a method that turns vegetation into the rust color that dominates the shot.

An educator named James Drake obtained over 350 full-resolution photos from the NTs OMZ (Russian Research Center for Earth Operative Monitoring), and used them to make several videos showcasing a day in the life of Earth. The satellite takes a full image of Earth from its stationary point over 35,000 kilometers above the Indian Ocean every 30 minutes, providing the material for the video below. The images have a resolution of one kilometer per pixel, and the one you see above was taken on May 14, 2011.